Just Say Naa?
by bakacal
Summary: The sequel to Angel of the Battlefield, set four years later. Mysterious and powerful forces threaten the Angelic Layer Global Cup. But are the Angelic Devils really the biggest threat? And what's up with Colonel Cisneros? Will this insanity never end?
1. Battle 1: Icchan goes boom again

Just Say "Naa?"

Disclaimer: Aside from reading the manga, watching episodes 1-10 and talking to recruiters I do not own Angelic Layer (it belongs to CLAMP) or the US Marines (they belong to the US Department of Defense). Fuu from Magic Knight Rayearth appears as a speed type angel, and I don't own MKR either (it belongs to CLAMP) except for having read volumes 1 and 2. Lastly, apoligies to Sandra Cisneros, a talented author and poet, who also appears as a speed type angel. I don't own her or her work but I have read "House on Mango Street". I do own the characters that I created.

Note: This is a sequel to "Angel of the Battlefield", also by Bakacal.

Battle One

Icchan goes boom again

Parris Island, South Carolina

The Angels were at the edge of the Layer, battling to stay on. The larger, bulkier Angel was wearing combat fatigues and seemed designed for power. The smaller, lighter one was a speed type that was dressed in a dancer's outfit. The larger Angel was pounding away at the smaller one, and with one punch knocked it out of the force field that surrounded the Layer. The Deus controlling the larger Angel stood up and picked the smaller one up off the floor. The two Deuses shook hands and the Angels were returned to their Deuses. A woman who was commentating announced the results.

"And that, Layer fans, is another victory for our champ, Master Sergeant Elizabeth Green and Wasp!" The spectators applauded as Elizabeth bowed. She was a 31 year old drill instructor in the United States Marine Corps. She, like her Angel, was dressed in the comat uniform of the Corps. Her short blonde hair bounced as she bowed.

The other Deus came forward. She was a short Hispanic woman with stern eyes and sharp features. She held out her hand.

"Excellent fight, Sergeant," she said. Elizabeth saluted, then shook her hand.

"Thank you, Colonel Cisneros, ma'am," she said. The captain nodded. "Come on, Sandra" she said to her Angel, "we have a busy day tomorrow." Colonel Cisneros left the room. Elizabeth looked at her watch. 2200, or 10:00 pm civilian time. she adressed the audience.

"C'mon, people," she said. "Back to bed. We've got a big day ahead of us as well."

"Yes ma'am!"

San Diego, California

The graduates awaited the ceremony with a mix of emotions. Fulfillment. Joy. Happiness. Excitement. But most of all, pride. Two hundred men had been forged from two hundred boys. As they walked with the globe, eagle, and anchor proudly displayed on their uniforms, they all realized one thing. They had endured a thirteen week trial by fire and been forged into the few, the proud, the Marines.

The general sat at his desk, examining the piece of paper the newly graduated private had given him. After some thought, he signed it. "Good luck, Private Green," he said as he returned the paper to the private. The private clicked his heels. "Yes sir!"

Tokyo, Japan

On the layer, the two angels danced. One was a pink haired speed type, wearing a sky blue leotard and matching leggings with white shoes. The other was a gold brown haired speed type, wearing glasses and a green leotard with white stripes. The leggings and shoes were also green with white stripes. They both danced the same dance: Right, right, left, right, spin, clap.They repeated this routine for some time. The girl controlling the blue clad angel removed her visor.

"Good job," she said to the other deus. "You're really getting the timing down." The other girl, a short, brown haired thirteen year old, shook her head.

"I'm still not as good as you are, Kobayashi senpai." The first girl sighed.

"Call me Ritsuko, Kana chan," said Ritsuko. Kana nodded. Ritsuko put her visor back on. "Come on," she said. "Let's see if you can apply what you've learned so far."

Kana put on her visor.

"Dispell the shadow! Guide me and Hikari to a bright future! Angel, fall in!"

"Angel of wind! Show the trail that only Fuu can see! Angel, fall in!"

The two angels fell into the layer. Fuu made the first attack, charging Hikari and swinging with a roundhouse punch. Hikari dodged the attack and slide-tackled Fuu, knocking it off its legs and inflicting 10 damage. Hikari then attacked with a karate chop but Fuu blocked the attack and performed a reversal to inflict 15 damage and send Hikari across the layer. Fuu then went on the offensive, showering punches and kicks on Hikari. Hikari was able to block all of Fuu's attacks but was being forced, little by little, to the edge of the layer. Fuu then found an opening and hit Hikari hard with a side kick, inflicting 20 damage and almost knocking Hikari off the layer. Fuu then moved to elbow Hikari from the layer, but Hikari dodged and, with a kick to the back of the knees, sent Fuu flying off the layer.

Ritsuko picked Fuu off the ground and handed it to Kana and nodded. "Very good," she said. "You've really improved in such a short time." Kana smiled. "Thank you for teaching me, Koba- I mean, Ritsuko san."

Kamehameha Memorial Stadium, Honolulu, Hawaii

Note: In 1810, Kamehameha I united the Hawaiian Islands under a monarchy. In other words, he's a very important guy in Hawaiian history.

In a video surviellence room in the Kamehameha Memorial Stadium, two men stood at a row of television screens. One of them was tall and gangly. He wore a white lab coat and glasses. He had long arms like a monkey. The other man was younger, and starting to nod off. The first man's glasses gave off an odd gleam.

"Icchan go boom!" shouted the man with the glasses as he jumped up with outstretched arms like a jack in the box. The other man jumped about a meter into the air and let out a short scream.

"You were falling asleep," Icchan breathed accusingly. "Bring me hot ramen! You have five minutes! Go!"

The man, who had Ogata written on his nametag, quickly jumped up.

"Yes sir, Chief Mihara, I mean Icchan!"

"Three minutes!" boomed Icchan.

"Aieee!"

Ogata ran out of the room in a panic.

Ogata: (wheezing) Your...ramen...(huff)

Icchan: (checks watch) You're two minutes late! Penalty game...ask for reviews while dressed as Ringo Seto!

Ogata: Fine, fine. (puts on costume) (in high, cute voice) R&R please! 


	2. Battle 2: Leaving Flint

Disclaimer: You know the drill. I don't own Angelic Layer, Magic Knight Rayearth, Sandra Cisneros, or the Marines. I do, however, own my characters.

Battle Two

Leaving Flint

Flint, Michigan

The city of Flint had been hit hard by the reccesion. People lived in ramshackle houses and dreamed. After the factories started closing, the biggest employer left in town was the U.S. military.

Jessica Green had told her children, "Always strive for the best. Never settle for second place." Elizabeth had perhaps followed this doctrine a bit too seriously. She had been an honor graduate from boot camp at Parris Island and was widely recognised as a stern taskmaster. She had always worn a scowl or an evil smile on her face. No one ever asked her if she enjoyed her work. It took the defeat against Ritsuko Kobayashi four years ago to bring her to her senses. Now, she seemed to move with a newfound happiness. She took pride in her work as a drill instructor and in her abilities as a Marine.

Andrew Green had started to play Angelic Layer when he was ten and Elizabeth was twenty three. Now, after 8 years of playing, he had joined his sister in the Marine Corps and was a member of the American national team. Elizabeth was first ranked in the country. He was ranked twentieth. He sighed. This year, two new rules had gone into effect. First, each country was limited to twenty deuses, and second, each angel could equip up to two approved attachments or weapons. Projectile, wave, and stun weapons were barred, as were weapons or attachments that could actually physically damage the angels. Andrew nodded as he equipped his angel with a blunt naginata (Japanese halberd, a long wooden stick with a short blade at the end) and a jet booster. It was a bulky power type dressed in the Marine Corps dress uniform. The feet were covered by black boots.

Andrew looked up when Elizabeth entered the room. He saluted. She shook her head.  
"At ease," she said, smiling. She took Wasp out of her shoulder bag and set it down on the layer. She equipped Wasp with a scimitar (a curved sword used by the Bedouins of North Africa and the Middle East and carried by modern Marine officers) and an M16 rifle. The rifle was really just a stick carved and painted to look like a rifle. It was not a projectile weapon. The scimitar also had a blunt blade in order to comply with regulations. Wasp's combat fatigues featured a strap on the back to hold weapons that were not being used. Elizabeth turned to Andrew.  
"Want to battle?" she asked. Andrew nodded.  
"Wasp!" Elizabeth shouted, "prove your worth to the world with your sting! Wasp, fall in"  
"Go, Semper!" Andrew called. "Knock your opponents away! Semper, fall in!"

The battle began. Wasp moved quickly. Within a second it was on top of Semper. Wasp drew the scimitar and began slicing. Semper used the naginata to parry the attacks. After a few seconds Wasp lunged too far and Semper knocked it off balance with a well aimed strike to the stomach. Wasp took 10 damage and skidded until it was two inches from the edge of the layer. Semper's jet booster allowed it to move quickly towards Wasp. Semper lunged. Wasp dodged and the momentum almost threw Semper from the layer. Semepr used the naginata as a brace to stop its skid, then used the jet booster to move back towards Wasp. Semper lunged again, this time connecting for 20 damage and sending Wasp into the air. Semper used the jet booster to follow, and with a well executed slash, sent Wasp into the surface of the layer. Wasp had just 34 HP left when it stood up. Semper landed and lunged. Wasp drew the scimitar and parried the strike. Wasp then used its sword hand to hit Semper with the bottom of the fist. Semper stopped and Wasp then hit hard with the blade of the scimitar. Semper took 15 damage from these two attacks and was briefly stunned as Andrew bit his lip. Wasp put away the scimitar and pulled the M16 from the strap on the back of its fatigues. Using the rifle as a staff, Wasp executed a brilliant series of slashes and lunges to push Semper to the edge of the layer. Wasp then punted Semper from the layer with a side kick to the stomach.

Elizabeth stood up and returned Semper to Andrew. At that moment a taxi pulled up in front of the house. The two went to the living room, took their suitcases and angels, and took the taxi to the airport for the flight to Honolulu.

Andrew: Waa! I lost!  
Elizabeth: Buck up already! We have to ask for reviews!  
Both: Please R&R! 


	3. Battle 3: Rematch

Bakacal: (Looks around the auditorium) Many writers do this, so I thought I'd follow suit. First off, thank you, Motokonobaka, for your reviews and encouragement. Without you, my email inbox would be virtually empty. Secondly..(searches through speech notes, realizes he doesn't have a second point to make), well, um, well...

Tamayo: (rolls her eyes) Pst! (gets Bakacal's attention and makes a series of hand gestures, including some that would be too obscene to mention here)

Bakacal: Uh... (sweatdrops, nods, whispers) Yeah, right. (turns back to audience, normal voice) I would like to take this opportunity to wish Lina and Kurokoneko the best of luck in the Worlds! F33r the bl4ck kitt3n! (gets shot by Largo, Dom, and Ed from MegaTokyo) Owwww...Ogata...take charge...

Ogata: You know the drill, people.

Misaki: Bakacal doesn't own Angelic Layer or Magic Knight Rayearth.

Hatoko: He also doesn't own Sandra Cisneros or the Marines.

Kaede: Angelic Layer and Rayearth belong to CLAMP.

Sai: The Marines belong to the US Department of War.

Ritsuko: But Bakacal does own me and Naoki and Elizabeth.

Kana: He also owns me and Andrew and Jessica and-

Elizabeth(interrupting): Let's just say he owns all of his own characters. After all, he DID create us.

Andrew: Sis, that was pointless. Like anyone reads the disclaimers anyway.

Oujirou: Good point.

Icchan: Hey, get on with it!

Shouko: Yeah, get on with it!

Kotarou: Shut up!

Crowd at the Global Cup: GET ON WITH IT!

Shuuko: Naa? (faints)

Naoki: Let's just get on with it.

Everyone: Right!

Bakacal: I also don't own Monty Python or MegaTokyo.

Battle Three

Rematch

Over the Pacific Ocean

"Attention passengers. We are now begining our final approach into Honolulu International Airport. It is 6:15 PM local time. The weather is sunny with highs in the low to mid 90s. We hope you enjoy your stay in Hawaii, and thank you for flying on Trans Pacific Airlines." Within ten minutes, TPA flight 58 from Tokyo to Honolulu touched down at Honolulu International Airport.

Honolulu International Airport

Ritsuko was the first one off the plane. She had to blink to keep from being blinded by the Hawaiian sun. Suddenly she felt someone pummel her in the gut and heard shouting in slightly accented Japanese.

"Oh my god, you're really here! You really are here!" Shana Aloushi was a sixteen year old Saudi and the younger sister of Nahiyah Aloushi, Saudi Arabia's top Deus. Shana was skilled at repairing angels; she had worked her magic when Naoki's angel was badly damaged four years before in Hiroshima. Shana's face was almost obscured by her long black hair. Ritsuko sat down on the floor of the airport lobby. Shana was still hugging her middle. Nahiyah walked over to them. The twenty year old deus was walking hand in hand with two people, a boy and a woman wearing Marine dress uniforms. Ritsuko instantly recognised the woman.

"Green san!" she called, waving. The woman smiled and saluted. The boy did the same. Shana let go of Ritsuko and went bounding over to her sister. Nahiyah helped Ritsuko up.

"Sorry about that," she said in accented Japanese. "She's never had coffee before." Ritsuko smiled and dusted herself off. "Don't worry," she said, "I'm just glad you made it." Nahiyah nodded to Kana, Misaki, and Naoki, who had just gotten off the plane. "Would you mind introducing us?" she asked politely. Ritsuko looked confused for a moment, then her face lit up. "Oh yes," she said. "Kana, this is Nahiyah Aloushi. Nahiyah, this is Kana Muramoto, my friend and fellow member of the Japanese National Team. You already know Mom and Naoki, right?" Nahiyah nodded and shook Naoki's hand. "Long time no see," she said. Naoki smiled. "Good to see you again, Nahiyah," he answered. Elizabeth came forward.

"Come to think of it," she said, "it was rude of me not to introduce him." She put her hand on the boy's shoulder. "Everyone, this is my brother, Andrew Green. Andrew, this is Ritsuko Kobayashi, Japan's seventh ranked deus." She nodded towards Naoki. "That's Naoki Mihara. He's ninth in Japan." Misaki stepped forward. "She's Misaki Kobayashi, Ritsuko's mother and Japan's best deus." Andrew saluted. "Nice to meet you all," he said politely. Misaki nodded. "It's nice to meet you too, Green kun."

Honolulu Merrit Hotel (Not a real hotel)

The travelers checked in to their rooms. They were all assigned rooms facing the water on the ninth floor. Shana, Nahiyah, and their parents stayed in room 904. Misaki, Tamayo, Kotarou, Ritsuko, Kana, Naoki, and Oujirou were given adjoining rooms 906 and 908. Elizabeth and three other females from the American team stayed in room 910, and Andrew shared room 912 with America's only other male deus, tenth ranked New Yorker Robert Heverly. After checking in, the dueses went down to one of the hotel's practice layers.

There were quite a few practice layers on the hotel grounds. Most were in use by deuses from other countries. They could hear shouts and cheers in more than twenty languages as angels and deuses battled each other on the layers. Finally they came to an unused layer. Misaki inserted two quarters as she and Oujirou entered their Angels. A crowd began to gather as Japan's top two dueses smiled at each other.

Neither Hikaru nor Wizard had any equipment attached. They had both made the top two slots on Japan's team without using special attachments, and as a result had generated quite a bit of press. Kaede, Sai, and Hatoko had all equipped their angels with parts to enhance their strengths. During the competition, Shirahime had blown almost everyone away to take the third slot with strong armor attachments, and Suzuka was even faster if at all possible thanks to a jet booster, winning fourth place. The two deuses put on their visors and began to battle.

Rather, they would have. At that moment, what appeared to be a gold streak of light beared down on the layer and wrapped itself around Kotarou. He fell to the ground with a thud to reveal...

"Hey! Misakichi!" Misaki's face lit up at once.

"Tamayo chan!" The two women embraced each other as Oujirou stood up.

"Tamayo," he said. "I thought you were in Washington covering the president's news conference. Tamayo smiled.

"President, Schmesident," she scoffed. "I've got more important things to do." She put Kotarou in a headlock. "Like making sure this sucker treats Misakichi right!" She smiled at Kotarou. "You didn't try anything sneaky while I was gone, did you?" She asked. Kotarou gurgled.

"Um, Tamayo?" asked Misaki, "I think he's suffocating." Tamayo's eyes opened wide.

"Oops," she grinned, sheepishly, as she let go of Kotarou's neck. Kotarou gasped for air as Tamayo took out her tape recorder.

"I'm working for KJPN 99.5 FM," she said proudly. "This should be good. Japan's top deues in a little pre Cup duel."

Hikaru launched the first attack, charging at Wizard with full force. Wizard charged at Hikaru, and the two angels began exchanging blows and blocks in the middle of the layer. Neither side took any damage as the two angels kept up this routine for almost fifteen seconds. Then, Hikaru broke away and pummeled Wizard with a side kick to the chest. Wizard took 15 damage and fell back, dodging Hikaru's jabs. Wizard did a handstand, jumped up, and pounded Hikaru with an airborne kick that inflicted 20 damage and sent the pink haired speed type flying.

Hikaru recovered quickly. It landed on its feet and charged, connecting with a series of jabs that inflicted 10 damage and stunned Wizard momentarily. Hikaru pressed on, finishing with a kick for 10 damage and sending Wizard towards the edge of the layer. The crowd held its collective breath as Wizard came close to the edge. It skidded to a stop and stood up. Wizard then charged Hikaru, landing a sliding side kick to inflict 25 damage and force Hikaru to the edge. Hikaru was able to dodge a second attack from Wizard and jabbed for 10 damage. Hikaru then went on the offensive, furiously piston punching Wizard so fast that it had trouble reacting. The punches inflicted little damage but pushed Wizard closer and closer to the edge of the layer. Hikaru then edged Wizard off the layer with a well placed elbow.

The crowd burst into applause as Hikaru bowed and jumped up into Misaki's outstretched hands. Oujirou picked Wizard up off the ground and checked it, making sure nothing was damaged. The two deuses shook hands as Elizabeth and Ritsuko sat down at the layer. The crowd held its breath as the last finalists from four years ago began to fight.

"Go for it, Ritsukotchi!" shouted Tamayo. Ritsuko blushed, then nodded.

"Dispell the shadow! Guide me and Hikari to a bright future! Hikari, fall in!"

"Wasp! Prove your worth to the world with your sting! Wasp, fall in!"

Ritsuko had equipped Hikari with blunted shoutou and tachi, the two swords of a samurai. Wasp attacked first with its scimitar. Hikari blocked the attack with the shoutou and struck back with the tachi. Wasp dodged and quickly landed a hit with the scimitar, inflicting 10 damage. Hikari stepped out of the way of Wasp's next strike and slashed with the tachi. Wasp took 5 damage from the strike and hit back with the M16. Hikari was caught offguard and took 20 damage on a blow to the chest.

Wasp handled the M16 like a pro, pummeling Hikari with a devastating flurry of attacks. Hikari's damage meter steadily clicked downward to 40 HP left. Hikari then got a blow in with the shoutou, inflicting 10 damge and stopping the flurry of strikes. Hikari then went on the warpath, bashing Wasp with the swords and whittling its HP down to 15 within a minute. Hikari then launched Wasp into the air with a vertical strike that inflicted 10 damage. Hikari jumped up to inflict the finishing blow and did so with the shoutou, just as Wasp slammed the M16 into the back of Hikari's head. The two angels fell to the layer in a heap as their health meters dropped to zero at the same time. They landed with a thud and struggled to stand but collapsed onto each other like two battered rag dolls.

Elizabeth and Ritsuko sat still for a moment. Then the crowd began to cheer. Several of the deuses at the other layers congratulated the two fighters. Ritsuko recognized Thuy Nguyen and Mei Ling Wen from four years ago. Someone slapped her back and said something in Italian.

Ritsuko picked up Hikari and examined her. There were some scuffs and scratches but no serious damage. Elizabeth did the same with Wasp. The two rivals stood and looked at each other for a moment. They then nodded and shook hands. Flashbulbs went off.

Tamayo: (hugs Ritsuko) You did it, Ritsukotchi!

Ritsuko: Naa?

Kotarou: Tamayo, let go of her! C'mon! We have to ask for reviews again!

Tamayo: Fine.

All three: R&R please! 


	4. Battle 4: Andrew vs Kana

Bakacal: FINALLY, AN UPDATE! Sorry about that. AP Government, AP English, and AP Spanish really take up a lot of time.  
Elizabeth: And the fact that you're cheating on us.  
Bakacal: What?  
Elizabeth: What's this "Bloodstained Memory" I've been hearing about?  
Bakacal: (sweatdrops) Well, umm... (coughs) That's not the point! What are you doing, talking back to me?  
Elizabeth: It's in my contract that once a sequel is written, I, and for a practical matter, all of your characters, can come to life.  
Bakacal: (grabs paper from Elizabeth's hands) Let me see that. ( Sweatdrops) Oh. Right.  
Elizabeth: (annoyed) You still haven't told me about "Bloodstained Memory".  
Kasena: That's the name of Bakacal's new Advance Wars fanfiction.  
Elizabeth: Who are you?  
Kasena: My name is Kasena. I'm a character in "Bloodstained Memory".  
Elizabeth: Oh. What's so special about you?  
Kasena: You certainly get right to the point.  
Elizabeth: (glaring) Answer the question, you black haired bimbo!  
Kasena: (smiles sweetly) Just read "Bloodstained Memory" and find out.  
Elizabeth: (under her breath) I ought to (bleeped) you little (bleeped).  
Kasena: (oblivious) Hmm?  
Elizabeth: Never mind. Anyway, why are you here?  
Kasena: Bakacal invited me for this update.  
Elizabeth: Why the bleeped did he do that?  
Kasena: (smiles) To make you mad, of course. He said you're quite attractive when you're angry.  
Elizabeth: (through clenched teeth) I'll kill him...  
Bakacal: (smiles weakly, pops an aspirin) Great. Just great. Blatant ad, I know.  
Disclaimer: If you've read this far, this means that you know that I do not own any of this stuff. For the record, I do not own Angelic Layer, Magic Knight Rayearth, the US Marines, Advance Wars, or anything other than my own characters.

Battle Four: Andrew vs. Kana

Honolulu, Hawaii

It was still dark when Ritsuko woke up the next morning. She yawned and looked at her watch. 12:30 AM Saturday Tokyo Time. She pressed two buttons on the side of her watch. It now read 4:30 AM Friday Hawaii Daylight Time. She groaned, rolled off the couch and stood up. Everyone else in the room was asleep. She felt a pain in her thighs and realized that she was wearing her pajamas. Funny. She never remebered changing. For that matter, all she remembered about the day before was that she and Elizabeth had fought each other at Angelic Layer and had tied. She yawned and tried to get back to sleep.

"Wake up, dear."

"Naa?"

Ritsuko woke up to see Misaki standing over her. She rolled her eyes and looked at her watch. 10:00 AM Friday Hawaii time. She almost jumped about a foot into the air.

"You must have been tired yesterday," Misaki said. "You were sleeping like a log."

"Naa..."

Ritsuko rubbed her eyes. Her body still felt heavy. She yawned as she got up off the couch. She got dressed and after a quick breakfast, she took Hikari and went down to the practice layers. There were a lot of people there. Most of the deuses had been up since sunrise, practicing. She winced as someone swore loudly in French. As she neared the end of the area closest to the beach, she saw Nahiyah and Elizabeth engaged in a tense battle. Nahiyah's angel, a balanced type named Mohammed, had taken 30 damage so far. Wasp had taken 25 damage. Mohammed was equipped with a scimitar and an white elliptical shield with a red cresent moon on it. The two angels were trading blows at the center of the layer. Finally, Mohammed broke away and pushed Wasp with the shield. Wasp ducked under the shield and used its scimitar to inflict 20 damage with a slash across Mohammed's chest. Mohammed moved quickly and pushed Wasp down and out of the inside of the shield. Mohammed then used the shield to push Wasp away. When Mohammed retracted the shield and Wasp charged with the scimitar raised, Mohammed used the shield to stop Wasp and knocked the heavy power type off balance. Mohammed then attacked with its own scimitar, inflicting 30 damage with a quick series of thrusts. Wasp rolled away from Mohammed, stood up, and charged with the M16. Mohammed was ready. With a quick sidestep, Mohammed avoided the worst of Wasp's attack and used the shield to channel Wasp's momentum. Wasp left the layer before Elizabeth could slow her angel down.

Nahiyah noticed Ritsuko and invited her to sit down with them. Ritsuko sat down next to Nahiyah as Elizabeth examined Wasp. The two dueses had been frinds ever since they met at the last Angelic Layer Global Cup, four years ago in Hiroshima. Nahiyah lost to Ritsuko in her first match of the finals, and had gone on to win the bronze cup after beating Naoki. Ritsuko had taken the gold after defeating Elizabeth in her second match. The three dueses spent the morning reminiscing about the last Cup and talking about some of the up and coming dueses in the next Cup. The opening ceremonies were scheduled for Saturday morning, so many of the layers were taken up by dueses getting in some last minute practice before the competition opened.

As the noon hour rolled around, the three friends heard shouts and cheering from the other side of the layer room. They joined the large crowd and tried to see what was going on. Elizabeth boosted Rituko on her shoulders. Two deuses were engaged in a fierce battle. One was a tall, handsome American with brown hair and blue eyes. He used a power type dressed in Marine dress blues. His opponent was a Japanese girl who had short brown hair and intense brown eyes. Her angel was a glasses wearing speed type in green and white clothes. Ritsuko recognized the two fighters.

"Andrew! Kana!" she called. They nodded quickly and returned to the fight.

With the time at two minutes left, both Semper and Fuu had taken about 30 damage each. Fuu carried a kodachi (literally, a short sword) and had a jet booster equipped. Semper's naginata made several jabs at Fuu. The speed type dodged easily and struck with the kodachi. While not a strong weapon by itself, the speed advantage that Fuu's jet booster gave was enough to work up enough momentum to inflict 10 damage on Semper with a hit to the chest. Fuu then backed out and prepared to attack again, but Semper had its naginata ready. The long halberd kept Fuu from aproaching close enough to make an effective attack. With a broad strike, Semper inflicted 15 damage and knocked Fuu to the ground. Semper pressed its reach advantage with impunity, jabbing at Fuu. Even though Fuu was able to use the kodachi to block Semper's attacks, it was kept from mounting an effective offensive. The seconds ticked down as the match entered its last minute.

Ritsuko was beside herself with worry as she watched Kana struggle. Don't give up, she thought to herself as each second ticked away. Fifty, then forty, then just thirty seconds remained.

Kana made her move. Fuu took a few steps back, then charged in. Semper lunged. Fuu jumped and twirled to dodge Semper's attack, then swooped in and began hacking away at the power type. While the naginata's length provided a good defense as well as a strong offense, that same attribute also made it useless in melee fighting. Fuu's mad rush of sword swipes, punches, and kicks inflicted severe damage on the power type, whose damage meter reached zero just before the clock did.

Andrew picked up his angel from the layer as the crowd cheered. Fuu did a little bow and tried to jump into Kana's hands, but missed and landed on her lap. The hedge next to the layer rustled slightly as a very flexible man in a white lab coat scurried away.

Andrew: Phew! That was tough!  
Kana: Yay! I won! (smiles broadly)  
Kasena: Well played, all of you.  
Elizabeth: (fuming) I don't want to be told that by you!  
Kasena: (with her brow wrinkled) You know, you're really starting to get on my nerves.  
Elizabeth: (smiling arrogantly) That's the point, you little (bleeped).  
Kasena: (twitches slightly) Why you...  
Bakacal: (weakly) Someone, stop them please...  
Nahiyah: Elizabeth, it's time to ask for reviews.  
Elizabeth: Fine.  
Kasena: May I help?  
Nahiyah: Sure!  
Elizabeth: (at same time) No! (Kasena looks confused)  
Bakacal: Kasena, it might be a good idea to keep quiet for now.  
Kasena: Sure.  
Kana (happily), Andrew (tiredly), Nahiyah (cheerfully) and Elizabeth (angrily): Please R&R!

Bakacal: Sorry about the short chapter! Gomen ne! Ganbatte, Motokonobaka! 


	5. Battle 5: Reinforced Resolve

Bakacal: Sorry I haven't updated in so long!   
Elizabeth: This time, he blames the University of California.   
Bakacal: Yeah. Great school, annoying apps process.   
Col. Cisneros: All colleges are like that. Trust me, applying to Annapolis was like boot camp in itself.   
Bakacal: Typical government. (Sees a government lawyer) Yeah? Go sue me. (Supreme Court appears) Ack! I didn't mean it! (Runs away with Supreme Court in hot pursuit and John Roberts shouting "traitor!") (from offstage) Take it away, Liz!   
Elizabeth: (nods) Bakacal does not own anything except for his own characters. Several characters are copied from or inspired by existing characters or real people, most notably Kana's angel Fuu and Colonel Cisneros and her angel Sandra. Bakacal does not mean any rudeness by such homage paying. In addition, Miki Hatsuharu, Lina Paiya, and Kurokoneko are owned by Motokonobaka and are used with permission.   
Bakacal: (from offstage) I also don't own the US Naval Academy, the University of California, California State University Hayward (East Bay) or the Supreme Court. So, don't really sue me, OK? 

Battle 5 

Reinforced Resolve 

Kamehameha Memorial Stadium, Friday afternoon 

"Where is he!" 

A panicked Ogata ran through the hall, desperately scanning the area for any sign of our favorite mad scientist. The receptionist had told him that he had left early that morning for the Honolulu Merritt Hotel. Which was all well and good, but when Ogata called the hotel, he was told that no such person had been seen on the hotel grounds. Ogata felt ready to cry when he thought about the literal mountain of paperwork on his desk. Virtually every piece of paper had a space for the signature of "Ichiro Mihara", and he needed them signed before the Global Cup opening ceremonies the next day. 

"Icchan go boom!" shouted a familiar voice as a jack in the box wearing a white lab coat and glasses exploded from underneath the linoleum floor of the hallway. Ogata let out a short gasp as Ichiro Mihara straightened himself into a rubbing-his-chin pose. His glasses glinted in the light. 

"That's not funny!" Ogata shouted. "You just took about ten years off my life! We've got a mountain of paperwork for you to examine, and it needs to get done today!" He cringed. "I even cut a deal with the technical staff to stay until six today so you could get the work sent in on time!" Icchan grimaced. 

"I had important field research," he said, dusting the rubble from his lab coat. He turned to face Ogata. "I'll take care of it," he said. "Just get me a pitcher of cold hot chocolate in five minutes." Ogata stared. 

"Why?" he asked, knowing the answer already. Icchan's glasses glinted menacingly. 

"Die!" he shouted at Ogata, who screamed and quickly ran down the hall. When he had left, Icchan sighed and looked at the destruction he had caused. 

"Oh well," he thought as he walked to his office. 

Honolulu Merritt Hotel, around the same time 

The man sat at a table in the cafe, sipping a cup of coffee as he typed on a laptop computer. He was a thin man of average height. His glasses and already graying hair made him look much older than his forty five years. His eyes darted back and forth under a relatively thin pair of glasses. A waitress approached his table with a pot of coffee. 

"More coffee, sir?" she asked. He looked up, nodded, and returned to his work. 

"No sugar or cream, please," he said without looking up. The waitress smiled as she poured. She looked over his shoulder at the monitor. 

"You work with Angelic Layer?" she asked him. He nodded. 

"I'm a systems manager for Piffle Princess," he said as his fingers continued to type at almost breakneck speed. The waitress nodded. 

"I was quite the deus back in the day," she said. "They called me the Queen of the Layer at school." The man nodded as he continued to type. 

"Really," he said, not asking a question or disbelieving her. "What was your angel?" 

"Winia." The man nodded as he typed. "Speed type. Created on October 8, 1997. Deus Norma Wilkins of Pearl City, Hawaii. Impressive win-loss record of 67-8. One of your losses was to Miki Hatsuharu in the Hawaii States Tournament. One of your victories was against Ensign Chris Soryu of the United States Navy, who was also competing in the Hawaii States Tournament." The waitress gaped. 

"How did you know that?" she asked. The man smiled and pointed to the computer screen. 

"It's all right here," he said. "I told you, I work for Piffle Princess. I was also Ensign Soryu." The waitress stared. 

"You're Ensign Soryu?" she asked. Chris nodded. 

"I was," he said. "I resigned about a year after that. I've been working at Piffle Princess ever since." 

"Why'd you resign?" asked Norma. Chris stared at her. Then he seemed to go into a trance. His eyes seemed to glaze over as he was lost in thought. 

"Personal reasons," he said after a while. "Graduating from Annapolis only obligated me for five years of service, so when that time expired, I resigned. Besides, I wanted to spend more time with my family, but the Navy wasn't exactly family friendly. You know what I mean?" Norma nodded. 

"I would have enlisted as a cook or something," she said, "but being a single mother and all, they wouldn't take me." Chris sighed. 

"You wouldn't want to serve anyway," he said sarcastically, his voice rising with each syllable. "They pay you a fraction of civilian pay with the off chance of getting killed, and what do you get in return? A medal and a pinkslip and a "sorry we screwed up your life". Trust me, being a soldier isn't what it's cracked up to be." He noticed several of the patrons staring at them. He smiled sheepishly and returned to his work. 

"Well," he said, "that's just my opinion." Norma nodded and walked away to refill the coffeepot. 

"Only those who have seen hell truly know what it looks like," Chris said to himself as he continued to type. After a few minutes he went online via the hotel's wireless internet network and sent several files to Icchan's inbox. 

Meanwhile, at the layers, a heated battle was taking place. One of the contenders was Ritsuko Kobayashi, Japan's number seven deus. The other was an American, but not a member of the national team. She was nonetheless quite skilled. Her speed type angel was slim and graceful. It wore a white leotard and a white cloak, carried a rapier and a small circular shield, and had brown hair and brown eyes. The deus herself was a short girl with black hair, black eyes, and a slim figure. She was quite short for her twenty years and looked far too young for her Cal State Hayward T-shirt. The battle had just begun, and neither angel had taken any damage. Yet. 

The white angel charged at Hikari and lunged with the rapier. Hikari easily blocked the attack with the shoutou and attacked the white angel on its follow through. The white angel quickly put up the shield to block and with some fancy wristwork landed several hits on Hikari. The damage meter ticked down to just 96 but Hikari was forced to retreat several inches. Sensing an opening, the white angel attacked with a series of quick slashes and jabs. The length of the rapier was such that it was safe from Hikari's counterattacks. The damage meter clicked down to 80 as Hikari was pushed closer and closer to the edge. 

Ritsuko felt herself growing more and more agitated as her angel was pushed back. Her opponent was quite skilled. She nodded as Hikari was finally able to block some of the attacks, but the two swords made Hikari, a light speed type, too slow to counter attack before her opponent was able to attack again with the lighter rapier. 

"Think, Ritsuko," she thought to herself as Hikari was just barely able to keep up with the flurry of attacks. "What can I do to make Hikari faster?" A light bulb lit up in her head. 

"Of course!" Ritsuko thought. Hikari quickly dropped the tachi and used the shoutou to block another rapier strike. It then charged in, slamming the white angel's chest with the wooden blade before it could defend itself. The white angel's damage meter dropped to 70 almost instantly. 

"Kote! Kote!" she thought, remembering the videos she had seen of a superb American deus her mother had met when the Worlds were still new. With two quick strikes, Hikari hit the white angel's hands and disarmed it. Then, Hikari showered blows on the now unarmed white angel and reduced its damage meter to 0 as the clock read 8:40. The audience applauded as the white angel picked up its weapons, bowed to Hikari, and leapt from the layer into its deus's arms. The deus smiled. 

"Thank you for this fight, Kobayashi san," she said in polite Japanese. She spoke with the confidence of a native speaker, and the seeming undercurrent of energy in her voice reminded her of Tamayo. 

Chris left the cafe with the laptop under his arm. He walked with a very slight limp; one had to watch him closely to detect it. Even late in the afternoon, the Hawaiian sun was shining brightly. He was sweating slightly under his T-shirt as he thought about how it would take him a while to get used to Hawaii again. He was born in on a Navy base in Germany but grew up in Honolulu with his mother and sisters. He never saw much of his father, an infantryman in the Marines who unfortunately put his career before his family, prompting his wife to get a divorce. When he became an IS manager in the Navy, he made sure not to repeat his father's mistakes. Of course, this cost him several coveted promotions, and after he was passed over a third time, he resigned as soon as he could. 

He walked over to the layers. It was only around 5 o'clock, so many deuses were still practicing outside. He heard cheers and groans in almost two dozen languages as he made his way through the area. He was about to reach the area his daughter told him she would meet him when he heard a tinny clarinet playing the melody to "Be my Angel". He sighed and reached into his pocket for his cell phone and opened it. 

"Moshi moshi," he said absentmindedly as his eyes took in the sights. He grimaced when he heard the voice on the phone. 

"Icchan go boom!" shouted the person on the other end of the line. Chris forced a smile. Ichiro Mihara was the type of person who fit the stereotype of a mad scientist- to a point. He was quite serious when he wanted to be which, much to Chris's disappointment, was not often. Even the aging process had failed to dull his wit and flexibility. 

"How's the paperwork coming, Icchan?" he asked. He could hear chuckling in the background, but it might have been Icchan himself. 

Or he may have just been imagining. When you have a slightly insane genius like Ichiro Mihara as your boss, you never know when you're "just imagining" something. Even though the assignment was only temporary, Chris quickly learned that things were not always what they seemed. 

"Splendid," said Icchan. "Don't you just love going through boring documents looking for that obscenely small box that has the X that means 'sign here'? Yessir, nothing like good old fashioned bureaucracy to make a man feel alive" Chris grimaced. With Icchan, reality was just a state of mind. 

"Fight the good fight, boss," he said as he prepared to hang up. 

"Wait! That's not the point!" shouted Icchan. "Chief Wilson just called in and he says the Angelic Devils have hit again!" Chris quickly woke back up. 

"Come again?" he asked. 

"The Angelic Devils hit the store in San Francisco," Icchan explained. "They took about thirty thousand dollars worth of merchandise and they threatened to go against our store here in Honolulu tonight." Chris sighed audibly. "Where there is a fad, there will come evil fanatics" he thought, although at more than thirty years old, Angelic Layer was more than a simple fad. 

"I didn't think they'd start attacking stores," he said. 

"Their Chinese chapters have also been active," Icchan continued. "Five deuses were mugged in broad daylight. Five! If we can't reign them in, President Wang's threatened to 'deal with it'. You know what that means." Chris nodded. 

"An outright ban on Angelic Layer in the name of national security," he said. 

"Most likely," Icchan answered. "Some of the best up and coming deuses are from China, you know. If we lose the China market, Angelic Layer could take a severe international blow." Chris nodded. 

"What have we got in the way of defenses?" he asked. 

"The police are there right now," said Icchan. "Can you-" Chris nodded. 

"It's been a while since Typhoon and I have really fought, but we can handle it. Just let me pick up my daughter and we'll both be there." Icchan breathed a sigh of relief. 

"Yukikaze's gonna be there as well? That's a relief!" Chris nodded. 

"We'll be there inside the hour. Ciao." Chris hung up the phone and came across the layer, where Ritsuko was examining Hikari. 

"Otousan!" The girl wearing the Hayward T-shirt pummeled Chris around his abdomen. He fell to his knees as Ritsuko looked on nervously. 

"Oof! Did you behave yourself while I was gone?" The girl nodded. 

"Yup!" she exclaimed. She motioned to Ritsuko. "I made a new friend today!" Chris nodded. 

"Arigatou, Kobayashi san," he said. "I hope my daughter wasn't too much trouble." Ritsuko shook her head. 

"May chan is a skilled deus," she said. "She should have tried out for the team." Chris sighed. 

"That she should have," he said. "Arigatou, Kobayashi san. Come on, May, we've got ourselves a job to do." May nodded. 

"Arigatou, Ritsuko chan!" she said. "Wait a sec, take this!" May handed Ritsuko a card. "I've already got about five of her, so you can have this." 

"Arigatou, May chan!" Ritsuko called as they left. When she lost sight of them, she put Hikari in her shoulder bag and blinked several times. 

"Phew," she said as she checked her watch and realized she had spent close to four hours practicing. "I really got in a good day of practice." As soon as she stood up, her place was taken by a gaggle of deuses speaking in rapid French. 

"So many people," she thought as she walked through the crowd. Soon, she left the layer area and had entered the beach. Even in the evening, the beach was quite crowded. There were times where she could hardly see more than ten feet ahead of her for all of the people. 

"Hey, Ritsuko!" she heard someone call her name. She turned and saw Elizabeth and Nahiyah waving to her. She smiled and ran to them. 

"Where have you two been?" she asked. 

"Guess," answered Nahiyah. Both she and Elizabeth wore swimsuits, and several men nodded approvingly as they passed. Ritsuko shook her head. 

"The pool?" she asked. Elizabeth shook her head. 

"The beach, silly!" she exclaimed. "Where have YOU been, in any case?" Ritsuko smiled. 

"Last minute practice," she said. Nahiyah noticed the card in Ritsuko's hand. 

"What's that?" she asked. Ritsuko showed her the card. After staring at it for a few seconds, Nahiyah smiled. 

"So they came out with the new cards already," she thought aloud. 

"What do you mean?" asked Elizabeth. Nahiyah smiled. 

"Didn't you bother to look at it, Ritsuko chan?" she asked. "That's an Angelic Layer card, one of the new editions they're releasing to commemorate the Sixth Cup." Ritsuko read the card, which had a picture of a cat eared Angel dressed in a floor length kimono on it. In the background was a black haired teenage girl wearing black clothing. She looked like a Goth, but her cheek to cheek smile said otherwise. 

Legends of the Layer   
First Edition   
001   
Angel: Kurokoneko   
Deus: Lina Paiya (USA)   
Type: Power   
Weight: Middle   
A household name in her native United States and around the world, Lina Paiya is one of the best deuses in Angelic Layer's history. With one of the best win percentages and the ability to adapt to any layer thrown at her, Paiya has shined like no one else. She was instrumental in arranging for environmental layers for the Sixth Angelic Layer Global Cup in Honolulu, Hawaii. Although she is married, she retains her maiden name for the sake of name recognition. Retired from professional Angelic Layer, she currently mentors rookies on the Big Island of Hawaii. 

"Wow," said Ritsuko, amazed. "So that's Lina Paiya." Nahiyah smiled. 

"That photo was taken at the Worlds about thirty years ago," she said. "She looks a lot older now." Elizabeth gaped. 

"Environmental layers? I'm impressed. The Global Cup has always been much more conventional than the Worlds. I had no idea that they were planning something like that." 

"It's all about TV," Nahiyah said. "People have grown bored of conventional Angelic Layer. The true enthusiasts love the game regardless, but for the casual fan or the total outsider, the Worlds have always been more exciting because of the environmental layers. Besides, it was only recently that the Global Cup came under the jurisdiction of Piffle Princess. Up until now, the Global Cup was a privately financed venture independent of PP, so they didn't have as much money to spend on layers and such. That's also why it's held only every four years. Now, with PP sponsoring the Global Cup, they can actually afford all the trimmings." Ritsuko's eyes were open wide with amazement. 

"You really know a lot about Angelic Layer, Nahiyah san," she said. "I had no idea about that stuff." Elizabeth rolled her eyes. 

"Whoopdee fricking doo," she said sarcastically. "All that really means it that the competition will be a lot harder than normal, right?" Nahiyah shook her head. 

"You're a soldier, aren't you?" she asked Elizabeth. "Don't you know anything about battle strategy?" 

"I'm not in the combat arms," answered Elizabeth. "I wouldn't know." Nahiyah nodded. 

"In any case, that's the most basic thing about strategy. Disregard terrain, and even a guaranteed victory can be lost. Very important battles in history were decided by terrain. The new battlefields might very well make the difference between victory and defeat." 

"Come to think of it," said Ritsuko, "when my mother went through the Japan National Tournament, several of her battles were won because she adapted to the layers." Nahiyah nodded. 

"We'll just have to try our best to win," she said. "Let's do our best, OK?" Ritsuko and Elizabeth nodded and the three girls clasped hands. 

"May Allah smile upon us in the coming trials," Nahiyah said in Arabic before translating for the benefit of Ritsuko and Elizabeth. 

"Let's all go to the finals again, Green san, Nahiyah san" said Ritsuko. 

"Here's to victory!" called Elizabeth as a cool breeze chilled the air. 

Bakacal: I might have dug myself a bit of a hole here. Introducing an evil group of deuses, environmental layers, many more battles to come, I just hope I can wrap it all up before the second coming of the prophet Zarquon (tribute to Douglas Adams). A lot of America's deuses seem to be current or ex military, ne? In any case, please review! Onegai shimasu! Please? 


	6. Battle 6: Fallen Devil

Bakacal: I can't believe that it's been a year since I opened my fanfiction dot net account. First of all, I'd like to thank- 

Tamayo: Baka! This ain't the Oscars, you know! 

Ritsuko: Omedetou, Bakacal san. Congratulations on your first year at fanfiction dot net! 

Bakacal: In any case, two important dates for Bakacal fan(s) out there: my birthday was on May 18, and my first anniversary on fanfiction dot net is on the 21st. Without any further ado, let's start the show with an extra long anniversary chapter! 

Disclaimer: (sung by Eric Idle) Always look on the bright side of non ownership, since Bakacal owns nothing except his own characters and stuff. 

Battle Six 

Fallen Devil 

Friday evening 

The Piffle Princess store in Honolulu 

Chris Soryu gave a strained smile as he maneuvered the aging Dodge Police Interceptor into a parking spot. At least he hadn't hit anything. He quietly rolled into an angled parking space as he set the parking brake, shifted to "park", and cut the engine. 

This was not a car he would have purchased of his own volition. It was literally a relic from the days of low fuel prices and lax environmental standards. Ironically, it was a "wolf in sheep's clothing" in a certain sense, as it had belonged to the Honolulu Police Department until budget concerns forced a sale to an obscure company called "Piffle Princess" as a company car. Unfortunately, even after all the time that had passed, the company had yet to get rid of this gas guzzling tank, and it once again passed into the hands of a PP employee on official business. 

"I swear I'm putting some Chevron executive's kid through college," said Chris as he stepped out of the car. "I've seen tanks with better gas mileage." May stepped out of the other side and nodded. 

"Come on, otousan," she said. "Chief Icchan's got a job for us to do. Look, the police are here already." She pointed to five Honolulu police officers, most of them surprised at the Asian man who was carrying a small doll in his hands. They were even more surprised when a girl who looked like she was still in grade school stepped out of the car, also with a doll in her hands. Chris smiled as he approached the officers. 

"Christopher Soryu, Piffle Princess," he said as he handed his ID card to one of the policemen, who nodded. "This is my daughter, May. We're here to support you." The rest of the police officers nodded somewhat unenthusiastically. 

"I'm Lieutenant Rachel Tyler," said a tall policewoman. "I'm leading the operation. Good to have you aboard, Mr. Soryu, May." 

"What the heck are they thinking?" one of the policemen asked another in a soft whisper. "Sending some old Asian guy and his grade school daughter to support us? And they're armed with dolls, for Ford's sake." A short policewoman with "L. Hasegawa" on her nameplate shook her head. 

"Haven't you ever seen any kung fu movies, Davis?" she asked her colleague. "The old guy and his students are always the best fighters." Chris grimaced. 

"I'm not even fifty," he said. "I'm still young." May and the officers chuckled. 

"Still," said Davis, "you're armed with dolls. How do you expect to support us?" Chris smiled. 

"When you're dealing with doll fanatics, you need doll experts," he said. "Chief Icchan decided that it would be best to have a skilled deus participate in the operations." Lieutenant Tyler nodded. 

"You know how to handle police operations, right?" she asked. Chris shrugged. 

"I spent five years as an officer in the Navy, and May has some skill at fencing," he offered. Tyler smiled. 

"Good enough, for two civilians, I guess," she said. She looked at May. 

"How old are you?" she asked politely. May beamed. 

"I'm a sophomore at Cal State Hayward," she answered cheerfully. "I just turned twenty!" Tyler's jaw dropped. 

"You're not serious," she gaped. May shook her head. 

"Nope!" she said. "I just turned twenty last June!" Hasegawa smiled. 

"You've certainly aged well," she said. "You don't look a day past eleven." Davis was more direct. 

"You're such a shrimp!" he exclaimed, kneeling next to May and putting his hand on her head. "Do you have to sit on phone books in class?" May blushed. Chris started as he heard a car engine quickly revving in the distance. 

"Did you hear that?" he asked. Tyler nodded. 

"That's got to be an SUV, sometime within the last ten years," she said. "Load up!" she called as she pulled her standard issue revolver from her holster and loaded it. Hasegawa and the other officers did the same as Davis retrieved and loaded a shotgun from the police van. Chris assumed a fighting stance as May went behind a bush and picked up a long stout stick. 

"Stay back," Chris warned his daughter as they heard a loud crashing sound and the squeal of tires. Within a second, a black SUV dragging pieces of wood careened into the parking lot, shaving the rear end off of Chris's Interceptor and narrowly missing the police van as it made a dangerously fast turn. Tyler nodded. 

"Davis, now!" she ordered. Davis acknowledged with a quick nod and fired several shots at the SUV, knocking out several side windows and popping the right front tire. The hulking vehicle seemed to lose speed immediately, and when it crashed into the building, the officers quickly and efficiently surrounded it. 

"Out of the car, now!" shouted Tyler as the officers held their guns ready. A teenager scrambled out of the shattered rear window and attempted to run for the road. Within a heartbeat, Chris was on top of him. The teenager turned and threw a punch, but with a quick block and a flick of his wrist, Chris was in control of the situation and the teen was forced to the ground, his arm twisted behind him. As Hasegawa handcuffed the juvenile offender and escorted him to the police van, two more boys attempted to flee the scene by breaking out of the back of the van. Davis fired a warning shot with the shotgun, then took aim. 

One of the boys drew a pistol and fired twice at Davis, hitting him in the chest both times. As Davis fell, he fired once, knocking the armed boy to the ground and peppering his front side with shot. Tyler aimed and fired, felling the other boy with one shot. 

Three more boys ran out of the wrecked van and into the store. As two of the officers followed them, several shots were fired. No one was hit, but the officers returned fire, putting several holes in the building. The boys proceeded to knock merchandise from the shelves and then took cover in a back room. Chris nodded as he ran to the scene. 

"Damn," he though as the officers reloaded their weapons. When they had finished, they rushed in. Several gunshots rang out and one of the officers was knocked to the ground before he reached the door. The other fired two shots into the building before retreating. The front window exploded in a shower of glass as gunshots from the inside broke through. Chris ran to the fallen officer and dragged him along the ground, out of the line of fire from the building. He then ran into the building and took cover behind a service counter as gunshots rang out. As he pulled a small knife from his pocket, he saw a small doll moving along the ground. It reached the end of the counters, turned, saw Chris, and charged. Chris instantly recognized it as an angel. As he looked to the wall of the store, he could see in the semi darkness white glowing lights on a plastic cube about one foot on each side. 

"A layer generator," he thought as the angel jumped up. He dropped the knife and caught the angel with his hand and gave it a good squeeze, careful not to break it. It began to struggle. 

Layer generators were devices that could be used to create layers anywhere. By making angels within a certain area respond to signals from angel visors, it could create an area in which battles could be fought. By placing obstacles in the area, any layer environment could be simulated. 

He pulled his own angel from his jacket. This male angel was clothed in a white shirt decorated with light blue swirls, a navy blue haramaki, a pair of navy blue slacks, and wore brown shoes on its feet. A small blue hat shaped like a teardrop sat atop its head. It was armed with a blue katana with a wave design on the blade and a blue shield painted with a reproduction of a Hokusai print of crashing waves with Mt. Fuji in the background. 

"Go, Typhoon!" he called as he tossed the angel onto the floor and whipped a collapsible visor from his coat pocket. "Let the storming wind be your foe's requiem!" After he tossed his angel, he released the opposing angel and took refuge behind several overturned boxes. Even if her could not physically see, from the visor he could see what Typhoon saw. 

His first order of business was to disable the first angel, the one he had released. Typhoon quickly charged and elbowed the opposing angel in the face. Using the opponent's head as a springboard and Typhoon's forearm to push it, Chris's angel propelled itself up and performed an airborne backflip before coming down hard with the katana. The blow went straight down and knocked the enemy to his knees with one hit. On his visor, Chris could see that the enemy angel's health was at 2 percent. He kept on his guard as the opposing angel attempted to stand. 

He heard the gunshot and quickly moved Typhoon to avoid the attack. On his left, on top of a pile of angel eggs that had been knocked off the shelf, he could see an angel standing with a smoking rifle. Unlike tournament sanctioned weapons, this was designed to shoot small pieces of metal and was clearly not an official Piffle Princess weapon. 

At least not one that was sold in stores. 

Typhoon took cover behind a collection of collapsed boxes and pulled a small pistol from the haramaki. Like the opposing angel's rifle, it was designed to shoot small pieces of metal. However, as an official employee on law enforcement duties, Chris was allowed to carry a gun and equip his angel with firearms while his opponent was not. Despite this, Chris preferred using nondamaging means to apprehend criminals such as the Angelic Devils. 

He waited for two seconds, then quickly moved Typhoon out from the boxes and aimed. The opposing angel fired several shots that Typhoon easily dodged while still staying locked on. As he was about to pull the trigger, though, the opposing angel fell from its perch and was replaced by a white angel in a white leotard and a white cloak. The white angel carried a rapier and a small circular shield and struck a pose before it was toppled by a third angel. 

"Ack!" Chris heard a familiar voice. "I fell!" Chris sighed. 

"May, I thought I told you to get someplace safe." May chuckled. 

"Yeah right," she said. "I can help out too, you know." Gunshots rang out as the two angels took cover behind the same pile of boxes. 

"You all right?" Chris asked his daughter. Her angel struck a confident pose. 

"Yukikaze can handle anything," he heard her say as the three opposing angels gathered together. All three carried long rifles that had obviously been illegally acquired. They seemed to not know where their targets were. 

"Right," said Chris as the three angels formed themselves into a circle defense position. He nodded and Typhoon charged with the katana. It quickly disarmed the previously damaged angel and finished it with one hit. The other two angels attempted to counter the sudden attack, but their rifles were made useless by the proximity of their enemy. They fired wildly for a second before they were silenced by several quick swordstrokes from Typhoon. 

"Hey!" cried May in indignation. "Where's my share?" Chris chuckled as several more angels were thrown in from the direction of the back of the store. 

"Incoming," he called as three more angels landed. May crooned. 

"Yay!" she exclaimed as Yukikaze charged forward. The fencer angel quickly engaged one of the opposing angels. Yukikaze lunged with the rapier and landed a hit on the chest before its opponent could react. With a graceful series of sword strokes, Yukikaze maneuvered the enemy back and back before using the shield to push it into an avalanche of boxes. The enemy angel quickly tore through the cardboard prison and charged. Yukikaze dodged and clobbered it on the head with the shield. The enemy angel went down. Chris nodded and stood up. 

"I'll go to the back," he said. "May, keep those angels busy." May nodded and grinned. 

"No problem," she answered. "Go for it!" Chris nodded and, using the counters and shelves for cover, made his way to the back of the store. He spotted the closed door and, quickly apologizing to Icchan, ran in and kicked down the door. 

The three boys in the back of the store seemed surprised at Chris's sudden intrusion, but quickly drew pistols and fired several poorly aimed shots before attempting to run. Chris quickly overtook one of the boys, who turned and attempted to punch him. Chris dodged to the right and landed a disabling blow to the boy's stomach with the flat edge of his left hand. As the boy doubled over, another boy turned and fired a shot at Chris, who easily dodged to the left. Chris then knocked the gun out of the boy's hand with one well aimed attack and sent him to the ground, clutching his head, with another. The last boy tried to tackle Chris, but the former Navy officer used his arms to protect his face and slammed the boy against the wall, knocking him out in the process. When Chris backed away, the boy slid down and landed in a heap on the floor. Chris nodded decisively. 

"All clear!" he shouted. Within a few minutes, Tyler and Hasegawa took charge of the situation and the boys were in handcuffs. As Tyler covered them with the shotgun, Hasegawa and Chris went to retrieve the two bodies in the parking lot. May and another officer tended to Davis as the last officer spoke on a radio. Chris took the pulse of one of the boys. The boy gasped. 

"Momma," he whimpered. "Momma..." Chris nodded 

"You're gonna be okay, kid," he lied softly. The boy smiled and closed his eyes. 

Several years prior 

"Mister...um, Sooriu?" 

"Soryu." 

"Right. Lieutenant Johnson will see you now." 

"Thank you." 

Chris stood up from the leather couch and pushed past a door that read "Intensive Care Unit, authorized personnel only". He saw the police officer standing beside the bed. He saluted when Chris entered. 

"Lieutenant Mark Johnson of the California Highway Patrol, I assume?" Chris said. The officer nodded. 

"I'm Ensign Soryu, U.S. Navy," Chris continued. "I was told you have information on the..." He paused for a moment. 

"Incident," Chris said finally. Johnson nodded. 

"Around noon yesterday, Seaman Antonio Henderson was on the campus of Pacific High School in San Leandro on his normal recruiting rounds. During the lunch hour, there was an incident in which a student smuggled a small firearm onto the campus and began firing randomly. Regrettably, Seaman Henderson was caught in the crossfire." Chris nodded. 

"May I see him?" he asked. Johnson nodded. Chris thanked the officer and pulled up a chair next to the bed. Johnson handed him a manila folder, which Chris opened and read to himself. 

"I see," he said after a few minutes. He leaned over, close to the prone form of Seaman Henderson. 

"You're gonna be okay, kid," he lied softly. Henderson's skull had been easily punctured by a stray bullet, and, having had a summer job at a local hospital in his high school days, Chris knew enough about the human body to know when a gunshot victim was doomed. Seaman Henderson smiled and closed his eyes. 

"Thank you, sir," he said as he tried to bring his hand to a salute. 

Several days later 

"Are you sure about this, Chris?" asked the admiral as he finished reading the letter that Chris had handed to him. Chris nodded. 

"I'm positive, sir. I've done my time. My work is done." The admiral sighed. 

"I'd feel a lot better if you stayed on, you know. You've gotten to be a pretty good recruiter and a fine programmer." 

"I know, sir. You keep telling me." 

"Right." There was a brief pause before Chris spoke. 

"Sir?" The admiral shook his head. 

"Go ahead. I can't stop you. Just...take care of yourself, okay? And don't try to do anything to hurt our recruiting efforts." Chris smiled. 

"I understand, sir. Here." The lone gold bar of an ensign clinked on the desk as Chris removed it from his collar and placed it there. The admiral nodded. 

"You know where you're going, son?" he asked. Chris nodded. 

"Back to Hawaii, sir," he said. "I've got family there, after all." The admiral sighed. 

"I'll miss you," he told Chris. Ensign Christopher Soryu saluted for the last time as a member of the United States Navy. 

"Sir! Thank you, sir!" The admiral waved him off. 

"See you around, Chris." 

"You too, sir." 

The day after that 

"Sir?" 

Chris regained consciousness as he felt pain shoot through his legs. He shut his eyes in an attempt to shut out the pain. The orderly nodded as Chris came to. 

"Ensign, um..." The orderly struggled to pronounce the name. 

"Soryu." 

"Eh? 

"That's my name," said Chris. "And don't call me ensign. I quit today." 

"Yesterday, more like," the orderly answered. "You've been out for almost twenty hours from the morphine since, well..." The orderly showed Chris the accident report. Chris sweat dropped. 

"Great," he said. "Just great. Surviving five years in the Navy to be done in by a bicycle. I think my pride hurts more than my legs." 

The white space faded out as the parking lot came back into view. 

"He's a goner," Chris said with finality as he examined the wound. It was a clean shot to the head that had punctured the skull with minimal tumbling. The hole was thankfully not much larger than the bullet itself and his face was smiling from the endorphins to raise the pain threshold, so the boy would most likely die with minimal pain. His brown hair was matted with blood. Hasegawa examined the boy who had been wounded with the shotgun. 

"This one's still breathing," she called to Chris as she stood up. "He looks like Swiss cheese, but he'll pull through." Chris nodded weakly. 

"Six Angelic Devils, one crashed SUV, one killed and one wounded by gunshots, one officer wounded, one Dodge Police Interceptor trashed," Chris reeled off as he rolled his eyes. They walked to the officer tending Davis as the officer on the radio nodded and ran to them. 

"HQ's got a paddy wagon en route now," he told them. The officer tending Davis nodded. 

"Tell them to get an ambulance as well," he said. "If I saw right, we have four gunshot victims." Chris nodded. 

"One of the boys is dead," he said. "How's he pulling through?" he asked, indicating Davis's motionless body. May smiled. 

"He's unconscious, but his vitals are pretty good for someone who got shot in the chest," she told him. "As far as I can tell, he hasn't gone into shock, and the bullets haven't hit any vital organs. The other officer is okay, just scared out his wits." Hasegawa sighed. 

"That's a relief," she said as a large van with "Honolulu Police" on the side rolled into the parking lot. The four prisoners without gunshot wounds were loaded and carted away. Within a few minutes that felt like hours, they could hear the blades of a helicopter approaching. It was obvious that dispatch had alerted the nearest large hospital to the incident. 

They loaded the bodies and watched as the helicopter took off into the night sky. Chris went behind a bush at the edge of the parking lot and, after looking around to be sure that no one was watching, vomited. 

Later that evening, Honolulu Police Department 

"And that's what happened, officer," Chris said before taking another sip of tea. The officer nodded as he continued to type. 

"That's about it for the report," he said. "Wanna make a statement?" Chris put down the mug of tea and nodded. 

"I'm too old to be playing Rambo?" He said as he massaged his leg. It never really fully healed after the run in he had with the bicycle in front of the naval base, and his actions earlier that night had put a slight strain on it. The two men laughed at Chris's joke. 

"I suppose I'd better get back home, then," he said, checking his slightly outdated analog watch. "It's late as it is, and the Interceptor's a complete write off." 

"Not to worry. Rach'll give you a ride." Chris blinked. The officer smiled. 

"I know you just saw her shoot to kill," said the officer, noticing the look of shock and apprehension on Chris's face, "but she's a good person. Trust her." Chris nodded. 

"You say that like I have a choice," he told the officer, who grinned. 

"Don't tell her I said this," he whispered to Chris, "but she's really scary when she gets mad. Not to mention she's got ears from hell." Chris looked past the officer's shoulder and winced as a fist came down on the officer's head. The officer grimaced as Rachel stood grinning broadly, her fist seemingly planted in the officer's skull. 

"Is it that bad to have ears from hell?" she asked as she moved her fist from side to side. Chris nodded and stood up, taking his angel from the desk as did so. 

"Let's go," he said. 

A darkened room somewhere in Honolulu, Hawaii 

: So, Percy has failed, has he? 

: Yes. He was killed, and the other five have been captured by the local police. The group stole nothing of value. 

: No matter. He was only a small fry anyway. The raid was insignificant. WE already have what we need. 

: ... 

: This is getting interesting. I will have to pay a visit myself. 

: Shall we move forward with the plan? 

: Yes. 

: If we can sabotage the opening ceremonies tomorrow... 

: No. WHEN we sabotage the ceremonies tomorrow, our mission will be complete. 

: Our conquest of Angelic Layer will be complete. 

: True enough. Vaccines have been distributed, and the you-know-what is ready. Tomorrow, playtime is over, and the real war begins. 

: Yes! 

Bakacal: Well, this chapter gave some insight into why Chris left the Navy. We also learn absolutely nothing about the Angelic Devils. In the next chapter, the Opening Ceremonies began in earnest, and some of the old legends (as described in Motokonobaka's works) will appear. Go Kurokoneko! As always, reviews, suggestions, and flames are welcomed. 


	7. Battle 7: Something REALLY Wicked This W

Bakacal: (brushes away cobwebs) Oh dear. It's been a while, hasn't it? 

Ritsuko: (sneezes as dust floats to the floor around her) It's good to get a little fresh air. 

Bakacal: What can I say? I'm lucky that senioritis (the laziness in high school seniors that sets in after college admissions decisions are made) didn't really hit me until graduation time. 

Misaki: Of course, you spent most of the summer angsting about how you had no idea what you wanted to do in life. As you said, "Kaji ga kikanai fune" (a ship with a rudder that doesn't work). 

Bakacal: I think I know what I'm going to do now. I will major in a music related field and either go pro or become a teacher. A stint in the military might also be in store. (walks off stage with a satisfied look on his face) 

Ritsuko: Bakacal? A soldier? (grows faint) 

Misaki: Don't worry. In about ten minutes, he'll walk in her and tell us that he wants to be a lawyer. 

Ritsuko: You mean…there are people…who actually WANT…to be lawyers? (faints) 

Misaki: (sighs) Bakacal does not own Angelic Layer or anything else except for his own characters. Several characters that appear belong to Motokonobaka and Saint X. If you are a lame brained lawyer who does not understand this, you will be whacked over the head many times with a harisen made from a copy of the Fair Use in Copyright Act. Thank you. 

Battle Seven 

Something REALLY Wicked This Way Comes 

Saturday morning, Kamehameha Memorial Stadium 

BANG 

SLAM 

"We're here!" 

She almost knocked the door off its hinges as she entered the room. She was a tall woman, a black haired woman who still had a tendency to act as she did in her teenage years: an almost schizophrenic mass of boundless energy who could beat anyone's arse with a stick or an angel. 

Some people never change, and thankfully, Lina Paiya was one of them. 

The other two occupants of the room were much quieter than she was. A middle aged Korean man sat on a bench, fiddling with his angel somewhat nervously. He wore a suit but left his tie, which was decorated with small South Korean flags, on the bench. 

If he was nervous, the older woman sitting opposite him was in total panic. Her age was evident in her wrinkled face and slightly stooped posture, but her giddiness gave her the impression of a schoolgirl put through a washing machine. The man looked up and smiled. 

"Good to see you again, Lina," he said. Lina smiled. 

"Same to you, Jyung, Shuuko," she answered. The old woman nodded. 

"All that leaves is Mees san," she said, as though she was terrified at the thought. Jyung smiled and patted the angel on his shoulder. 

"You got a speech worked out?" he asked Lina. She produced a note card from her bag, along with an angel that looked like a black kitten in a lime green kimono. 

"Blimey, is that the time?" Lina turned to the door. 

"Jools!" she exclaimed as she stood up and ran to the door. Standing there was Julia Mees, a former British champion who, like Lina, had retired from professional play to open her own school, based in London. Jyung stood and shook Julia's hand. Julia shook her head and looked up. 

"Bakacal," she said, "I know you're up there. You can bloody well call me Jools like Motokonobaka does." 

SORRY ABOUT THAT. Julia smiled. 

"No harm, no foul," she said. "But I AM serious about you calling me Jools." 

UNDERSTOOD. LET'S GET ON WITH IT. 

"Right," said Jools. "It's really great to see you again, Lina. Is Natalie with you?" Lina shook her head. 

"She's going to some event back in New Jersey. Piffle Princess is reopening a store in Trenton." 

GET ON WITH IT ALREADY. 

"Bloody fanfiction writers," said Jools as she pulled Sequin out of her bag. After adjusting an arm and making sure it was properly oiled, she returned Sequin to her bag. Lina perched Kurokoneko on her shoulder. The angel smiled. 

"Nyaaa!" she yawned, stretching her arms and legs. 

XXXXXX 

"Testing, testing, one, two, three." Tamayo tapped the microphone lightly with her index finger as she nodded. "Good." She cleared her throat. 

"Ahem! From Kamehameha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii, KJPN 99.5 FM is proud to bring you live coverage of the opening ceremonies of the Sixth Angelic Layer Global Cup. It's a beautiful day here in Honolulu, and we've got a lot going on, so stayed tuned for live coverage of the Sixth Angelic Layer Global Cup, taking place in Honolulu, Hawaii, USA." 

The doors at the end of the field opened. Ritsuko squinted to adjust to the bright light of the Hawaiian morning. She made sure that Hikari was safely perched on her shoulder before marching forward into the blinding light. She heard an orchestral fanfare in the distance. 

"And the ceremonies have begun in earnest. There, at the head of the line, I can see the previous champion, Japan's Ritsuko Kobayashi, coming into the stadium. Her angel, light weight speed type Hikari, is on her shoulder, and carrying the Japanese flag with her is her mother, Misaki Kobayashi, better known to some layer enthusiasts by her maiden name of Misaki Suzuhara. The Japanese consistently field a strong team, and I can see several of the best deuses in the world coming out right now. Kaede Saitou and Blanche, Sai Jounouchi and Shirahime, Oujirou Mihara and Wizard, Hatoko Kobayashi and Suzuka, and of course the previous fourth place finisher Naoki Mihara and Yamato." 

When her eyes adjusted to the light, Ritsuko opened them. The stadium was packed to the brim with Angelic Layer fans, all shouting and cheering. She smiled and took a look around the stadium. The layer was large, almost like a stage, and was elevated to about ten feet above the field they walked on. At ground level Ritsuko could see several computer banks she assumed were used to simulate the battles. The entire area was surrounded by a large fence, and the stands rose in waves behind it. There was a large amount of flat space even with the massive layer, and Ritsuko guessed that the complex was also used for other events as well. At the fence, around the entire collection, was an oval track made from real gravel. Above the deuses, the domed ceiling had been opened and it let the sunlight of the morning shine down. 

The Japanese delegation marched around the stadium once before stopping on the artificial turf in front of the layer. The layer was actually in the middle of a large, oval shaped turf field, and the layer was arranged so that it was in almost the exact middle of the field. On one side, the Japanese delegation stood as the other countries filed into the stadium. 

Ritsuko watched with amazement as the national teams filed into the stadium. Tradition dictated that Japan march into the stadium first, followed by the national teams in alphabetical order in the language of the host country, and the host country marching in last. The main problem was whenever the Cup was held in Japan, but this was alliviated by having the flag bearers enter alone at the beginning and having the rest of the team enter after everyone else. 

XXXXXX 

In the stadium's video security room, Chris watched with mild interest as the Italian delegation marched into the stadium. He had been present at all of the opening ceremonies since the first cup in Tokyo, and he figured that it would be the same routine as usual: a lot of cheering, an unfortunate amount of booing, and witty remarks from the commentators about the delegation's history. He was just tuning out Tamayo's witty comments about the Italian champion's chest size when a coworker tapped him on the shoulder. 

"Hey, Chris, got any Kurokonekos?" Chris nodded and took from his pocket a pile of cards that he had organized into a deck. He quickly flipped through the cards and asked casually, "What do you want for it?" 

"I have a Blanche and a Shirahime..." 

"Got Electra?" The employee shook his head. 

"I've got a Hinata..." Chris jumped. 

"Kurokoneko for Hinata. Deal?" he asked. 

"Deal." Chris removed a Kurokoneko card (one of three) from his deck and the cards changed hands. He stared at the new card. 

Legends of the Layer   
First Edition   
007   
Angel: Hinata   
Deus: Miharu Rina Hoshikawa (Japan)   
Type: Speed (see notes)   
Weight: Light (see notes)   
Often called the "Gundam Girl" for her angel's themed armaments, Miharu Rina Hoshikawa has consistently established herself as a top contender in the world of Angelic Layer. Despite her narrow defeat to Lina Paiya and Kurokoneko in the 20XX Worlds, Hoshikawa's ability to adapt Hinata to any situation has proven very useful in her battles. Hoshikawa currently teaches robotics at the Mihara Institute of Technology in Tokyo. 

He smiled and tucked the card in his deck, placing the deck in his pocket again. 

Meanwhile, in a darkened room somewhere in Honolulu, a man stood, watching the same scene that Chris was. He was an old man, almost into his seventies, and smiled as he listened to the aide whispering at his shoulder. 

"It's been a long time, Chris," he said softly to no one in particular. "It's been far too long." 

"Attention!" 

He quickly snapped to attention as a tall woman entered the room. She was passably attractive, and probably would have been quite so if it hadn't been for the scowl on her face. The man eyed her nervously. 

"At ease," she told him. Everyone in the room relaxed considerably. The man sighed as he let his stomach sag. She turned to face him. 

"How are the preparations progressing, Admiral?" she asked. The man nodded. 

"Everything is going according to schedule, Madame Secretary," he answered. "The Angelic Devils are in position and we are certain that, should the operation fail, it will not be tied back to us." The woman frowned. 

"That's a relief," she said. The man looked at her in a concerned way. 

"Is something the matter?" he asked her. 

"Well," she began, "President Hatsuharu is becoming increasingly suspicious. If we act now, it could give her an excuse to investigate the entire War Department. If she discovers the Angel Battalion, we could be executed as traitors." The man smiled. 

"There is nothing to worry about," he said. "She has plenty on her plate with the upcoming elections. There has been concern that the Conservatives could win over California and shift the balance of power in Congress. She has her hands full. The earliest she can make her move will be sometime after the election, and by then our plans will be completed. If she tried to move against us then, she would be the one who would be seen as a traitor. Her hands are tied." 

"If things go wrong, we could always abandon the Devils." 

"Indeed. Shall I give the orders?" The woman nodded. 

"Inform Colonel Cisneros that the operation will proceed as planned." The admiral saluted. 

"At once, Madame Secretary." He pressed a button on the radio console before him. 

"Wilkes calling Cisneros, Wilkes calling Cisneros, come in please." 

In the cavernous underbelly of the stadium, the American team sat last in line, itching to go out into the sun. Colonel Cisneros stood up, claiming she needed to relieve herself. She locked herself in a stall. 

"Cisneros here. Go ahead, sir." 

"Commence operation as planned. Go Zulu Delta Echo Niner." 

"Roger wilco. Zulu Delta Echo Niner." She smiled grimly. 

_Am I really doing the right thing?_ she thought to herself as she pressed a button on her earpiece. 

"Zulu Delta Echo Niner," she said softly. "This is Colonel Cisneros. All wings, report in." 

"This is Commander Eckland. Seraphim Wing is ready to go." 

"Lieutenant Colonel Sanderson here. Cherubim Wing is A-OK." 

"Squadron Leader Jacobs, signing in. Archangels are ready to roll." Cisneros nodded and cleared her throat. 

"All wings, commence operations. We have clearance, Zulu Delta Echo Niner. Operation Nightmare is go. I repeat, Operation Nightmare is go." 

She pressed another button on her earpiece and stood up. She removed Sandra from her pocket and nodded. 

"The time has come," she said in the same way that a general in an anime might regard an upcoming climactic battle. 

As the Jamaican delegation took its place on the turf, several of the upper stadium lights suddenly blew out. Literally. As the crowd gasped and ducked away from the falling glass shards, all of the lights went out in detail, and within a few seconds the stadium lights were dark. Chris checked the schematic grid in the video room. 

"Stadium lights and luxury box systems are down," he called as the screens went blank one by one. A Piffle Princess employee picked up a phone. 

"Phones are dead," he called. Chris shook his head. 

"I don't get it," he said. "The reserve generators are supposed to be on active standby. This would immediately prevent any loss of power to the stadium's power grid. A second employee nodded. 

"Sensors are down," he told Chris. "We have no idea as to the extent of the damage." Chris wrinkled his brow. 

"This is no coincidence," he said finally. "The main and reserve generators all going out? And the sensors as well? That's statistically possible, literally a one in a billion chance." He turned on his walkie talkie. 

"Soryu calling Chief, Soryu calling Chief, do you read me? Over." He could hear Icchan on the other end. 

"Chief here. What's happened? Over." 

"It looks like the electrical systems are down. Everything's down, even the backup generators. Suspect sabotage, over." 

"Everything's normal over here. Whoever did this didn't think…" Chris could hear Icchan's voice trail off. 

"Chief, what's wrong? Chief!" 

"It can't be…" 

"What do you-" He held his breath. He heard fumbling on the other end, then Ogata's voice. 

"Soryu, it's Cisneros! We have her on video! She's-" 

Chris blinked as the line went dead. 

Elizabeth: Hey, where's the action?! What happened to the Extra Long New Year's Chapter?! And what's with the evil cliffhanger?! 

Bakacal: I'm sorry, Liz, but I had to defer the real big action sequences to the next chapter in order to meet deadline. 

Elizabeth: (glares) You call that a deadline? You'd better get your lazy arse to work on the next chapter or you'll face a REAL deadline! 

Bakacal: By the way, Miki Hatsuharu, a character from Motokonobaka's Kurokoneko stories, is indeed the President of the United States. But what will become of our heroes? How will Chris react? What is Colonel Cisneros up to? Why is Elizabeth so freaking violent? Tune in next time on "Just Say Naa….." (fades out as Elizabeth pummels Bakacal into low earth orbit.) 

Sorry about the short chapter! I really wanted to do a long New Year's chapter, but the usual "school, family, and vacation" trinity just buggered me over. My New Year's resolutions are to update more frequently and to procrastinate less. Until later, Ciao! 


End file.
